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Give the teens in your life the gift of calmness

Almost ever summer over the last ten years, I’ve been teaching low income teens how to use their minds more effectively so that they can be more successful students, but also so that they can be more successful, happier, less stressed individuals.

We cover a lot of ground in my six-week course, but a core element is the practice of meditation. I was hesitant to do this. I wondered whether these restless teens would be able to sit still even for five to ten minutes. And what if they thought it was lame?

As it turned out, the most common comment in the end-of-term evaluation reports was “The best part was the meditation. I wish we could have done more!”

So this summer I promised my students that I’d make a CD based on the meditations I’d done with them. We’d covered body scanning (focusing on bodily sensations in order to calm the mind), using looking and listening in an open and receptive way as a means to bring about inner peace, meditation on the breath, a little lovingkindness meditation, and even some creative visualization.

I’m pleased to announce that the CD — Mindfulness Meditations for Teens — is now available on Wildmind’s online store. This album is also available as an audio download. It’s on the way to Amazon, although they’re saying it’s currently unavailable.

Christmas is coming up. Why not treat the teens in your life to some inner calm? If you get them meditating it’ll probably bring a bit more calm into your life, too!